MEET the Songbirds, a line-up of television stars and rising singing talent that will come together at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, on September 6 to raise funds for the charity Educate The World.

Six light classical and crossover acts from across Britain will give a one-off performance of operatic arias, songs from the shows, light pop and folk, hosted by Rebecca Newman, the People's Soprano from York, at 2pm.

She will introduce soprano singer-songwriter Mary-Jess Leaverland, winner of the Chinese version of The X Factor; 16-year-old soprano Scarlett Quigley; the duo Eden; Mariette Davina and Danielle Thomas.

"All the singers are unique in their own way, with influences as diverse as Kate Bush, Sarah Brightman, Enya and Maria Callas, and they're all donating their performance fees to the charity." says Rebecca, who will sing as well as being on compere duty.

"This is the type of concert that rarely happens outside of London. All six acts are well respected within the genre of classical-crossover and this concert is a must for local music lovers. I'm so honoured to be performing alongside these ladies and I know we'll give everything to make a show to remember."

Mary-Jess Leaverland hurtled to fame in 2009 after winning China's answer to The X Factor. She had flown to Nanjing as part of her degree in Music and Chinese Studies at the University of Sheffield, and while there she entered Min Xing Chang Fan Tian, which translates as "I Want To Sing To The Stars". Add her distinctive voice to her grasp of the Chinese language, and Mary-Jess stormed the competition as 70 million viewers took her to their hearts with her versions of O Mio Babbino Caro, Sam Brown's Stop and the Chinese song Yue Guang Ai Ren.

Her rendition of Time To Say Goodbye clinched victory in the final, but Mary-Jess was unable to take up the record deal prize in China, so she returned to Britain, where she was snapped up by Decca/Universal after a record-label bidding war, leading to the release of her album Shine in 2011.

Mary-Jess co-wrote seven of the tracks and among her collaborators was the esteemed Don Black. "Her beautiful, unique style fuses light classical choral vocals with Chinese music to create a classical-pop crossover sound that has generated a large fanbase in both the UK and China," says Rebecca.

In May 2012, Mary-Jess sang Abide With Me with the Band Of The Blues and Royals at the FA Cup Final to the 90,000 Wembley crowd and a worldwide television audience of potentially 300 million. She is now working on her next record, scheduled for 2015.

Mary-Jess explains how she came to be involved in the Songbirds concert. "I was asked to perform for this show by my Facebook fan group manager, Robert Scullen, so I was thrilled when my diary allowed me to participate," she says.

"He's been such a great support to me but he lives in Australia and is coming over to the UK for three weeks. He's helping to organise the concert with the charity founder, Dean Brockway. It's my way of saying 'thank you' for everything he has done. It also means I get to perform with York's Rebecca Newman, whose forthcoming album Dare To Dream includes a special duet we've recorded together."

Dean outlines the work of Educate The World.

"We're a UK charity committed to children around the world receiving a high-quality education. Article 26 of the 1948 United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, 'Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory'. Despite this, every year more than 57 million children, many of them girls, do not receive any education at all, leaving them unable to read and write and with few job prospects.

"As a charity, we want to help change that and provide education to children who would otherwise be overlooked and miss out on chances to better their future prospects. I'm so humbled these incredible singers will give up their Saturday to sing for this wonderful cause and I'm sure we will raise a good deal for the charity."

Tickets for Songbirds are on sale at £16, concessions £15, on 01904 623 568 or in person from the York Theatre Royal box office. Alternatively, they can be ordered online at rebeccanewman.co.uk/shop. You can find out more about the charity at educatetheworld.org.uk